Interesting to see how fortunes change: After four years of explosive growth, tablet sales growth is flattening out, while laptop sales, which shrunk terribly as soon as the iPad appeared, are stabilizing, and smartphone sales, especially of large-screen format phones, continue to grow. Apple and Samsung are experiencing some losses as they adjust production plans, as is Corning, the producer of the touch-screen glass materials. What does this tell us?

Well, it seems that tablets are being squeezed at both ends, phones with large screens have encroached on their large-screen appeal, while laptops (ultrabooks, etc.) have been redesigned to behave like both laptops and tablets (with swivel screens for presentations, for example). Although many executives prefer to carry an iPad from meeting to meeting, employees who actually do the work – i.e., draft proposals, prepare presentations, review plans, etc. – still need their laptop. And of course no one these days can live for five seconds without a mobile phone/texting/email device that still fits in their pocket. Hmm, wonder what will happen next to the tablet category…?